The Old Fourth Ward: Then & Now

The Old Fourth Ward (O4W) is one of the 242 officially recognized neighborhoods in Atlanta, Georgia. It was originally settled in the early 1800s making it one of the most historic areas of the city.

With a population of over 10,000 people, Old Fourth Ward lies on the eastside of Atlanta in Fulton County. It’s bordered by Downtown to the west, Poncey-Highland and Inman Park to the east, Sweet Auburn and Cabbagetown to the south, and Midtown to the north. 

Old Fourth Ward was originally diverse with German and Jewish inhabitants, but that quickly changed after the 1906 race riots and the Great Atlanta Fire of 1917. A neighborhood where white and black families lived as neighbors, quickly became segregated racially and socioeconomically.

One of the main corridors, Boulevard, is a perfect example of the rapid change seen in the neighborhood. Before the Atlanta Fire, Boulevard was seen as one of the most desirable locations to own a home. After the fire burned down many of the single family homes, brick apartment buildings with Section 8 Housing took their place. The fabric of the neighborhood changed as homeowners were replaced by tenants (WABE 2019). The Boulevard cooridor continues to be a hotspot for disinvestment as we will see later on.

The neighborhood was originally known as the Fourth Ward political area before Atlanta adopted the district system in the 1950s. Before becoming its own neighborhood, Sweet Auburn, was within the Fourth Ward boundaries - making these two communities closely intertwined.

The many churches in the Old Fourth Ward often made progress before the City of Atlanta. These were places where the community members not only worshipped, but sites of social reproduction where members organized and mobilized. Political and civic goals and ideas were often started and shared in these collaborative working spaces, which eventually led to the start of the Civil Rights Movement.

Big Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church opened Atlanta's first public school for African-Americans in its basement. Later on in 1888, Morris Brown College held classes in the exact same basement until their campus was complete.

In modern times, community members of O4W have an opportunity to participate in "choice-based communities," based on Brint's community typology, depending on where they live. These organizations include: Fourth Ward Alliance, Fourth Ward West, Fourth and S.A.N.D. (Sweet Auburn), Fourth Ward Neighbors, and NPU M. These are organizations with similar goals including civic engagement, community beautification, and economic development. It is not mandatory for residents to attend any of the organizations' meeting, but many decide to in order to the benefit themselves and their neighbors. The following map shows some choice-based community groups that neighbors may participate in:

Since the 1950s, 47% of the buildings on the once thriving Auburn Avenue have been lost or closed, either from natural disasters or disinvestment. This district is now known as a site for urban blight. This historic disinvestment has led to the displacement of many middle-class black families who once thrived in the Sweet Auburn district. The conflict of racial segregation initially led to Sweet Auburn’s rise and later, the historic disinvestment led to its fall. 

We cannot discuss disinvestment without mentioning a current and ongoing example. On Boulevard, once a thriving corridor, there now lies a shell of a hospital which used to serve the Old Fourth Ward, Sweet Auburn, and Atlanta communities for over a century.

Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center (AMC) was one of the largest nonprofit hospitals and providers of care in Atlanta for the poor and those who are uninsured or underinsured. Wellstar Health System's (who owns and operates the hospital) decided to close the facility this November after citing continual monetary losses from its operational costs.

The news shocked Atlanta politicians and the entire community. The once 460-bed hospital would leave a huge gap in healthcare access for those who are already economically disadvantaged. The following maps show the number of people uninsured in Fulton County (100,000) and the high level of povery in the area.

Despite being a non-for-profit institution, Wellstar still brought home millions of dollars in earnings. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens has repeatedly condemned Wellstar on their decision to close the hospital and issued a moratorium on all new zoning applications for the site. The hospital closure brought to light an even bigger topic: the necessary expansion of Medicaid. To better understand the people most affected by the hospital closure, key players, those involved (but not as affected), and those who caused the situation to occcur, please see the following chart:

Stakeholders and residents all throughout Atlanta united over the issue of healthcare acces in this historically Black and African American community.

Members of the Party for Socialism and Liberation's Georgia office were among the first to protest the closure. Soon after, Atlanta doctors stood united with community members to call for a full expansion of Medicaid. A solution which many agree may have prevented the hospital's closure. The President of Atlanta NAACP and Georgia NAACP also joined in on press conferences to oppose the closure.

As with most disinvestment, the full implications of this hospital closure may not yet be understood. One thing is for certain: the Old Fourth Ward will continue to change - for better or worse, but not without the community's involvement.